(Extracted from an article by John E. Spalding, "Where Did They Come From?")
(published in The Baseball Research Journal by the Society for American Baseball Research - SABR)
Most players who are enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame honed their skills in the minor leagues before they reached the majors. The following is a list of the 11 Hall of Fame catchers showing the minor league team where they drew a paycheck immediately before graduating to the majors.
| American Association Roy Campanella (St. Paul, 1948) Rick Ferrell (Columbus, 1928) Ray Schalk (Milwaukee, 1912) Eastern League Gabby Hartnett (Worcester, 1921) International League Johnny Bench (Buffalo, 1967) Yogi Berra (Newark, 1946) |
National Association Buck Ewing (Rochester, 1880) Pacific Coast League Mickey Cochrane (Portland, 1924) Ernie Lombardi (Oakland, 1929) Southern Association Bill Dickey (Little Rock, 1928) Started in majors, but sent to minors Roger Bresnahan (Washington NL, 16 AB, 1897; Toledo, Interstate, 1898; Minneapolis, Western, 1899) |